Camera issue in Windows PC.

Question

This is the issue I am seeing when I open the camera app. The camera is not working; the same goes for my browsers. However, the camera is working just fine for apps like Zoom and Teams, but not working in the camera app or browser. This is the error shown in the camera app. how to resolve it???

Answer 1

Welcome Kuhuk Gupta,

I understand how frustrating it can be when your camera works correctly in Zoom and Teams, but it fails in the Camera app and web browsers with a camera initialization error. 

In addition to the previous suggestions, you could also explore these options:  

Option 1: Check Camera permissions  

• Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Camera 
• Turn on Camera access 
• Turn on Let apps access your camera 
• Turn on Let desktop apps access your camera 

Option 2: Reset the Camera app  

• Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps 
• Find Camera 
• Select Advanced options 
• Choose Repair, then Reset if needed 

Option 3: Reinstall the camera driver  

• Open Device Manager from the Start menu 
• Expand Cameras 
• Right-click the camera device and select Uninstall device 
• Restart the PC and allow Windows to reinstall the driver 

Option 4: Repair system files  

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator. 
• Run:  
  • sfc /scannow 
  • DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth 

I hope the steps above help you deal with your issue.  

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Answer 2

Hi!

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

The error itself says that the camera did not initialize. I need few more details to narrow down the cause further. If you can help me to answer with these few questions.

1. Is your camera built into the laptop or is it an external USB webcam? Can you recall the last time that it worked?

Which browser(s) are affected? (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, etc.)

When you open the Camera app, does it immediately show the error, or does it briefly show the camera preview before failing?